Stars Fabio Peluso, Roman Hrabec and Ermanno Di Nicola Shine on Day 2 of the Merit Poker Western Series Main Event
Fabio Peluso, Roman Hrabec and Ermanno Di Nicola already established themselves as star players with titles and deep runs in prestigious tournaments. The Merit Poker Western Series $3,300 Main Event is another mountain for them to conquer, and they each put themselves in a position to do that on Day 2.
Peluso, the WSOP bracelet winner who was the chip leader at the end of Day 1b, is back on top after bagging up 1,477,000. Hrabec won a massive pot with a full house against Aleksandr Kirichenko on his way to finishing with 1,386,000. The Czech poker superstar, despite nearly $3 million in live career earnings, doesn’t have a live tournament win on his resume yet but just 129 players stand in his way here at the Merit Crystal Cove Hotel and Casino.
Di Nicola was riding an average stack before tangling in a pot against a past Merit Poker champion. Di Nicola moved all in on the river with trip fours and Maxime Chilaud called with two pair in an 800,000 chip pot. Di Nicola, who won a WSOP bracelet late last year and already finished in 14th in the Warm Up earlier this festival, ended up with 1,169,000 and among the top stacks heading to Day 3.
Those three aren’t the only players who put themselves in a good spot to chase the title today. Xiang Lian (1,353,000), Gang Zhao (1,337,000), and Jianwei Lin (1,135,000) lead the Asian invasion of Chinese players who have already made their mark this week in North Cyprus. Giuliano Boellis bagged the top stack of 1,654,000, while Hadi Khordbin (1,130,000) and Maher Achour (1,010,000) are also in the millionaire’s club.
Day 3 Top 10 Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Giuliano Boellis | Italy | 1,654,000 | 207 |
| 2 | Fabio Peluso | Italy | 1,477,000 | 185 |
| 3 | Roman Hrabec | Czech Republic | 1,386,000 | 173 |
| 4 | Xiang Lian | China | 1,353,000 | 169 |
| 5 | Gang Zhao | China | 1,339,000 | 167 |
| 6 | Ermanno Di Nicola | Italy | 1,169,000 | 146 |
| 7 | Jianwei Lin | China | 1,135,000 | 142 |
| 8 | Nan Zhu | China | 1,074,000 | 134 |
| 9 | Maher Achour | Tunisia | 1,010,000 | 126 |
| 10 | Yassin Mahmoud | Jordan | 996,000 | 125 |
Other big stacks include David Hu (950,000), Fausto Tantillo (914,000), Merit Poker Gangster Series champion Dmitry Yurasov (800,000), Dmitry Gromov (676,000), and start-of-day chip leader Samy Barka (658,000). Dzmitry Urbanovich (554,000) and Dean Hutchison (476,000) are also still in the hunt for the title, while Felipe Ketzer (251,000), Warm Up champion Simone Andrian (213,000), High Roller champion Maksim Shornikau (165,000), and Andrea Dato (148,000) find themselves near the bottom of the leaderboard.
Day 2 began with 223 survivors from the four starting flights joined by 161 entries while late registration remained open for the first five levels. That created a total field of 672 and a prize pool of $1,854,720. Chilaud, Thomas Eychenne, Monika Zukowicz, Adrian State, and Nicolas Chouity were among those whose tournament came to an end after registration closed.
The first order of business when Day 3 begins tomorrow at noon local time is to burst the money bubble. Just 80 players will guarantee themselves a $4,640 payday, meaning around 50 will leave tomorrow with nothing. Once the bubble bursts, it’s on to the final table and eventually the crowning of a champion.
PokerNews will follow all the action and provide live updates as the bubble awaits on Day 3.